The glamour and glitz that defines the entertainment industry acts like a magnet for the public eye and attention. While we associate the lives of celebrities with luxury and fame, it is the vicious scrutiny of their every move by the masses that forms an undeniable ugly reality of their lives.
Celebrities, especially in Bollywood, are often subjected to criticism for even the most normal of all actions, and most of this happens over social media. Thanks to trolls, the Indian online space has garnered a reputation for being insensitive, ignorant and, more often than not, highly heedless.
In the most recent case of online hatred, Bollywood director and producer Karan Johar found himself in the middle of a tweetstorm aimed at attacking him with ruthless homophobic comments.
The inability of many Indians to comprehend and accept LGBTQ+ relationships and individuals has made many online trolls resort to bullying.
Johar recently posted a picture of himself with Sonam Kapoor from the mehendi function ahead of the latter’s wedding on his Twitter handle. That did it. The floodgates of disrespectful comments were wide opened, because how can someone just be themselves at their friend’s wedding, and then have the audacity to share their happiness online?!
Following Johar’s tweet, trolls on Twitter unleashed their wrath by inundating the director’s feed with demeaning profanities.
This wouldn’t be the first time Karan has been subjected to such remarks. By using ‘Indian Tradition and Culture’ as an incorrect and baseless excuse to justify their abhorrence and intolerance, trolls have for long made a mockery of social media and their actions have deteriorated the experience for many.
It his high time that this issue is addressed and dealt with the seriousness it deserves.
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